Apparatus for drilling deep wells



? 5 m 0 SEARCH www Dec. 15, 1953 A. ARUTUNOFF 2,662,735

APPARATUS FOR DRILLING DEEP WELLS Filed Nov. 18, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l lL9 JNVENTOR.

Amm/5 wf/waff Dec. 15, 1953 A. ARUTUNOFF 2,662,735

APPARATUS FOR DRILLING DEEP WELLS Patented Dec. 15, 1953 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR DRILLING DEEP WELLS Armais Arutuno,Bartlesville, Okla.

Application November 18, 1948, Serial No. 60,709

11 Claims.

My invention relates to apparatus for drilling deep wells, such asdisclosed in my application for patent on Method and Apparatus forDrilling Deep Wells, Serial No. 711,959, led November 23, 1946, nowPatent No. 2,609,182, of which this case is a continuation-in-part.

In general, my invention relates to apparatus for drilling deep oil andgas wells, and it deals more particularly with a drilling unit suspendedon a cable, the upper end of the cable being connected to a suitablederrick or hoist at the surface so that it can be payed out as drillingprogresses. The drilling unit comprises a rotary drill and means forrotating the same, all suspended from said cable (the means for rotatingthe drill comprising an electric motor), and the present invention is animprovement in the means for suspending or mounting the drill androtating means therefor in such a manner as to avoid twisting of theWeight carrying or suspending cable.

In the apparatus disclosed in my application referred to above, thecable from which the drilling apparatus is suspended is so constructedand arranged that it also includes means for conducting the electricalenergy from above the surface to the motor suspended on the cable, andin the improvement disclosed herein the suspending cable likewise hasincorporated therein conductors for the electrical energy to be supl,

plied to the motor.

In providing a cable for suspending drilling apparatus of theaforementioned character, it is necessary that the cable be preventedfrom twisting due to the torque exerted on the apparatus by the rotatingparts of the drilling apparatus, and it is an important purpose of myinvention to pro-vide a mounting for the rotatable drilling means andthe driving means therefor so constructed that there will be no twistingaction exerted on the cable. In order to accomplish this purpose thereis provided, at the lower end of the cable, gripping means adapted toengage the wall of the well in such a manner as to hold the partsassociated therewith against rotation.

In order to further assure against twisting of the cable due tooperation of the rotating parts of the drilling apparatus suspended fromthe cable, a swivel is provided between the above mentioned grippingmeans and the mounting for the rotatable parts, so that should themo-unting for the rotating parts have any rotative movement whatsoeverin the well this will not be transmitted to the mounting for thegripping means associated with the cable.

Furthermore, in order to reduce the relative rotation of thetwo-swivelly connected parts of the swivel connection, additional wallgripping means is provided, this being associated with the mounting forthe rotating parts of the drilling apparatus in such a manner as to holdthe lower nember of the swivel connection against rotaion.

It has been found in practice that a single wall gripping device, suchas provided in the apparatus shown in my aforementioned application, issubject to some slippage, and hence will not at all times and under allconditions hold the lower member of the swivel connection providedbetween the cable and the mounting for the rotating parts againstrotation; if the lower member of the swivel Aconnection turns due to thefailure of said gripping means to hold the parts positively againstrotation, there is, of course, a possibility that the suspending cablewill be twisted to some extent. In order to completely avoid this it hasbeen found necessary to use the pair of wall gripping members with theswivel connection interposed between them, the upper gripping membersbeing associated with the suspending cable and the lower gripping memberbeing associated with the mounting for the rotating parts of thedrilling apparatus.

It is a further important purpose of my invention to provide a mountingfor the rotating parts of the drilling apparatus on a suspending cablethat includes a swivel connection, which is of the utmost dependabilitymechanically as well as electrically, and which is embodied into oneeasily replaceable assembly.

The gripping means that I utilize for engagement with the well wallpreferably comprises a torque shoe device having a plurality of shoes orgripping members that are so mounted as to be moved into engagement withthe well wall to grip the wall, upon any rotation of the part upon whichthese gripping shoes are mounted, due to the torque exerted thereon bythe rotating parts of the drilling apparatus, The shoes of the torqueresisting apparatus must be so mounted that the mounting will resist thegreat stresses exerted thereon by the torque that these resist and thespecific mounting of said shoes or gripping members disclosed herein isan important feature of my invention, in that it avoids any damage tothe gripping appartus by the forces exerted thereon.

It is another important feature of my invention to provide a swivelconnection that is provided with electrical contacts that are so mountedthat a circuit will be maintained between the conductors in the cablesuspending the apparatus and the conductors leading to the motor thatdrives the rotating parts of the drilling apparatus at all times as thetwo parts of the swivel turn relative to each other about their axis,said electrical connections comprising contact rings and spring pressedcontact members engaging with said contact rings to maintain theelectrical connections.

Means is provided for insulating the electrical conductors comprising abody of oil surrounding the same and the above referred to contacts andto maintain a pressure on said body of oil higher than that of thedrilling uid, that contains water, in which the drilling apparatus issubmerged.

It has been found, Where high voltage current is conducted throughconductors that are contained in a body of oil to provide the necessaryinsulating means for said conductors, that oil under pressure is notsufficient protection for preventing deterioration of said insulatingoil and thus loss of dielectric strength. It has also been found thatwhere there is the possibility of seepage or leakage of either the oilor a liquid containing water through a seal, that if such leakage occursand Water enters the body of oil, the moisture entering from the body ofwater will readily travel downwardly through the intermolecular space inthe oil, thus contaminating the entire body of oil and lowering thedielectric strength thereof, whereas this deteriorating process does notoccur where the point of contact of the water with the oil underlies thebody of oil so that the travel of the moisture would have to be upwardlythrough the body of oil. It is one of the purposes of my invention toprovide sealing means for the chamber containing the body of oil that isof such a character that all of the seals at which the outer body ofwater and the inner body of oil might come in contact are so locatedthat the body of water lies below the body of oil at the seal, and thusany point of contact with the water would underlie the body of oil.

During operation of my drill it is inevitable that the lower part ofswivel connection slowly rotates relative to the upper part due to thecreeping of main torque Shoes which although substantially holding thedrilling unit from rotating, are subject to some slip as the unitadvances. On an average, such creeping results in one revolution forevery five or ten minutes of operation.

It is highly desirable to be informed of proper performance of swiveland unit as the drilling proceeds and therefore it is one purpose of myp-invention to provide signal means at the surface to indicate relativerotation of the twoparts of i the swivel so that signal is sounded oncefor every revolution. The frequency with which the signal means operatesgives an indication of conditions being encountered in the well boreduring the drilling operation. If, for any reason, the signal meansceases to operate, it will immediately be apparent to those at thesurface that the two swivelly connected parts of the swivel member arerotating together (and that the swivel member is thus not functioningproperly) or that both parts are stationary.

It is also a purpose of my invention to provide in conjunction with themeans for securing the apparatus to the lower end of the cable areceptacle for refuse or debris that may be loosened or fall into thewell bore from above the point at which the drilling operation is takingplace, this 4 material being commonly referred to in oil Well drillingpractice as junkJ With the above objects in View as well as others whichwill appear asthe description proceeds, my invention consists in thenovel features herein set forth, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational View of my drilling apparatus, partlybroken away, showing the same located in a well bore,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the upper portionof the means for suspending the drilling unit from the cable,

Fig. 2a is a similar view of the lower portion thereof, the lowergripping means being shown in elevation and being partly broken away,

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 in the direction ofthe arrows,

Fig. 4 is a similar View taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a similar view taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2a, and

Fig. 6 is a similar view, taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 2a.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the referencenumeral I0 indicates a well bore in which my drilling unit is located.The drilling unit comprises an upper section Il, a section I2 swiveledthereto, a bailer section or detritus collector I3 connected to thelower end of the section I2, and a section I4 which contains the motorI5 for driving the drill I6 through suitable reduction gearing, notshown. In the drawings, the drill is shown as being a core drill,although any other suitable drill may be utilized.

The upper section I I of the drilling tool is suspended from a weightsupporting cable I1. The cable I1 is connected with the section II inthe manner illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, said section IIcomprising an open ended tubular portion I8, which is internallyscrewthreaded at I9 and is engaged at said threaded t. end portion by anut 20. The upper end of said tubular member I8 has a tubular guidemember 2l mounted centrally thereof, which is connected with the tubularmember I8 by means of ears 22. The member 2| is what is commonlyreferred to as a fishing neck. The cable IT extends through the member2l and is secured to a bolt 23 by means of cable clamps 24 and 25, bymeans of which said cable I'l is formed into a loop 26 embracing thebolt 23. The bolt 23 is mounted in a pair of upstanding ears 21 on aninner tubular member 28 provided in the section II, the tubular member28 being Xed to the nut 2D by means of a key 29 and a nut 30screw-threadedly engaging with the end thereof and seated against ashoulder 3| on the nut 20, said tubular member 28 also having an annularshoulder 32 thereon so that said tubular member 28 is fixed by key 29 inposition relative to the tubular member I8 by means of the nut 30clamping the shoulder 32 against the nut 20.

A sleeve 33 surrounds the bolt 23 and a sheet metal guard member 35 ismounted between the sleeve 33 and the loop 2S formed in the cable Il.The cable I 1 is made in a similar manner to that shown in my abovereferred to copending application, in that it has an outer weightsustaining sheath, and mounted within said sheath is an insulatedelectrical cable 36. The cable 36 is connected with an insulated cable3l by a suitable splice 38. The electrical cable 31 extends into thecentral passage 39 in the tubular member 28 `and into the tubular swivelmember 48 carried by the tubular member 28. Itfwill be noted that thetubular member I8 is removable from the member- 28 and thus from themember 28 -so as to provide ready access to the cable clamps and theelectrical connections within the same by merely unscrewing the samefrom the nut-like member 28 and sliding the sleeve-like member 2Iupwardly on the cable I1. Also it will be noted that when the tubularmember I8 is in position as shown in Fig. 2 it is open at the topthereof so that any debris that may be loosened above the location ofthedrilling apparatus will drop into the container provided by said tubularmember I8, said container having a large chamber 4I therein thatconstitutes a debris or junk basket. l

The tubular member 28 is provided with a cylindrical outer surface thatextends from the -shoulder 32 to the portion 42 thereof. The surface 44is provided with an annular groove 43 and a stop collar or ring 45 isseated in the groove 43. A pair of rings 46 and 41 are mounted forrelative rotation thereto on the cylindrical outer face of the member28. The rings 46 and 41 are the same in construction, except for thefact that these are reversed. Each of said rings has a plurality ofradial slots 48 therein, as shown in Fig. 4, and each has the ends of apair of bowed out springs 49 xed thereto (see Figs. 2 and 4). Thesprings 49 are of such a curvature that these will be flexed uponengagement with the wall of the bore I8 so as to rmly engage -by springpressure with the wall of the bore to hold the rings 46 and 41 againstrotation in said well bore.

The springs 49 and the rings 46 and 41 constitute part of a grippingmeans for holding the upper section I I, which constitutes the uppermember of a swivel connection, against rotation in the well bore. Saidgripping means further comprises a plurality of shoes 58 that may bereferred to as torque shoes, in that these shoes engage the wall of thewell bore to prevent rotation of the tubular member 28 and thus of theupper section I I of the well drilling device, which might otherwiseoccur due `to the torque developed by the motor I5 in rotating the drillbit I6. The member 28 is provided with a plurality of longitudinallyextending grooves 5I, which have a pair of side walls 52 and 53, theside walls 53 being inclined much more to the radial than the side walls52. Each of the grooves furthermore has a partly cylindrical bottom wall54, which serves as a socket for receiving the integral vhinge pinportion 55 on each of the shoes 58.

the member 28 relative to the rings 46 and 41 by means of the projectinglugs or fingers 6I provided on each end of each of the shoes 58, whichoperate in the radial slots 48 in the rings'46 and 41. It will beobvious that if the member 28 is rotated in a counter-clockwisedirection relativeV to the rings 46er 41, as viewed in Fig. 4, the

6 pivot pin portions 55 will be swung around relativeto the position ofthe lugs 6I so as to throw the gripping members 58 outwardly intoengagement with the wall of the bore.

As the forces that will be acting on the shoes 58 are very great, theconstruction of the mounting of the shoes must be quite rugged. For thatreason the pivot members of the shoes are mounted in the grooves in thethick tubular member 28 and are provided with strong retaining memberscomprising the arcuate bars 62 that have fiat end faces that are weldedface to face to the faces 52 and 53 of the grooves at 63 and 84,respectively, said arcuate bars 62 passing through the openings 56 inthe members 58.

The tubular swivel member 48 is provided with an upper screw-threadedend portion 65 that is threaded into the internally threaded end portion66 of the member 28, and a stuffing box is provided in the upper end ofsaid swivel member 48 comprising the compressible packing 61 and thegland member 68 that compresses the packing 61 between itself and theannular shoulder 69 providing a reduced neck portion in the swivelmember 48 within which the cable 31 ts. The packing 61 is thuscompressed around the cable so as to provide a liquid tight joint aroundthe cable within the member 48. The cable 31 extends to the lower end ofthe member 48, which has an annular enlargement 18 thereon, on which thecylindrical extension 1I is Secured.

An insulating block 12 is mounted in the lower end of the cylindricalmember 1I, being seated in a recess in the end thereof, as shown in Fig.2a, and the three conductors 13, 14 and 15 that are p-rovided in thecable 31 extend from the lower end of said cable through suitablepassages in the insulating block 12 to contacts provided on saidinsulating block. Said contacts, as shown more clearly in Fig. 5,comprise a central substantially circular contact 16 and a pair of flatring-like contacts 11 and 18. The contact 16 is mounted on the axis ofthe cylindrical member 1I and thus on the axis of the swivel member 48and the ring contacts 11 and 18 are concentric therewith. The conductor14 is connected with the central contact 16, the conductor 13 with thering contact 11 and the conductor 15 with the ring contact 18.

The member I2, which is swiveled on the member II, comprises an outertubular housing 19, with which an upper head 88 is screwthreadedlyconnected at one end thereof, and a lower head 8| is screw-threadedlyconnected at the other end thereof. The head 88 has a bearing portion 82fitting the outer periphery of the tubular member 48, and said bearingportion is provided with a plurality of grooves 83, in whichcompressible sealing rings 84 are mounted. The head member 88 has anupwardly extending end portion 85 that is slightly reduced in diameterand is provided with a cylindrical outer surface, while the swivelmember 48 has a flanged collar 86 keyed thereto by means of a key 81 soas to rotate therewith, said collar having a depending 2111111131 ange88 overlapping the reduced upper end portion 85 of the head 88 of themember I2 and having a groove therein, in which the compressible sealingring 89 is mounted. 'Ihe retaining ring 98, mounted in a groove in theswivel member 48 holds the collar 86 from endwise movement and the jointbetween the collar 86 and the swivel member 48 is sealed by means of thesealing ring 9|. An upper ball thrust bearing 92 is mounted between themembers 80 and 86, a space being provided between the members 80 and 86for mounting this thrust bearing.

' Mounted within said spacel is also a spring pressed contact 93, whichis carried by the up-per end member 80 provided on the tubular housing19 and thus rotating with the member I2 and grounded to said member 80and thus to the metallic parts of the drilling apparatus and the outersheath of the cable |1. A contact 94 is mounted in a recess in thecollar 86 and a conductor 95 extends to said contact through the passage96 in the collar 86, said conductor 95 being contained within the cable31 and passing therefrom in the passage 39, as will be obvious from Fig.2, a side passage 99 being provided from the passage 39 for theconductor 95 so as to bring the same out of the member 28. It will beseen that as the member 80 rotates relative to the member 86 and thus asthe member I2 rotates or swivels on the member I the contacts 93 and 94will engage once during each rotation of said parts. This is utilized asan indicating means or signal means to indicate by means of any suitablesignal above the ground surface connected with the proper conductorwithin the cable |1 and grounded to the outer sheath of said cable I1 toindicate as to whether the upper and lower members of the swivel arerotating relative to each other and thus whether the apparatus isfunctioning properly. In fact the frequency of the signals will indicatethe conditions in the well bore as, if any slippage of the grippingmeans 50 occurs, the relative rotation of the members 80 and 86 willeither be retarded or will cease entirely. If in any case the grippingmeans 50 is not functioning perfectly, then the rotation induced in theupper section II due to the slight frictional resistance in bearing andseals 84 and 9| will result in an undesirable twist in the cable I1.

The collar 86 is provided with a longitudinal passage 98 therein, whichleads to the space between the lower end of the member 86 and the upperend of the member 80, and a valve 99 is provided thereon through whichoil under pressure, which is an electrical insulator, is inserted in thepassage 98 and all spaces in cornmunication therewith. As the apparatuswill be in a body of water in the well bore when the drilling operationis taking place, there will be water surrounding the members 80 and 86and accordingly there will be water on the lower side of the seal 89 andoil on the upper side of said seal when the appaatus is in operation.However, it has been found that there will be no contamination of theoil and thus of its insulating and lubricating properties by upwardpassage of the moisture through the seal 89 into the body of oil,because, when the body of oil is above the body of water in the seal, nosuch intermingling of the moisture with the oil as would cause the sameto deteriorate, will take place.l

A ball thrust bearing |00 is mounted between a shoulder on the lower endof the member 80 and a shoulder |0| provided at the enlargement 10 onthe swivel member 40. The section I2 further comprises a tubular member|02, which is screw-threadedly connected with the head 8|, which thusserves as a coupling means between the tubular members 19 and |02. Themember 8| has a seat at its upper end for an insulating block |03 andhas an inner tubular member |04 secured in an opening in the lower endthereof, which communicates with the chamber |06 within the member 8|.The tubular member |02 serves as a piston chamber in which a piston I 01is mounted, which slides on the tubular member |04, serving as a guidefor said piston, and within the bore of the tubular member |02. Thepiston has a rearward extension |08 having an additional guide opening|09 therein cooperating with the tubular member |02. Sealing rings IIOand III are provided in suitable grooves in the piston cooperating withthe walls of the tubular members |02 and |04, respectively. A coupling|I2 is screw-threadedly connected with the tubular member |02 and acompression coil spring ||3 is mounted between the rear wall ||4 of thepiston |01 and the end wall I|5 of the coupling |I2. A series ofopenings ||6 is provided in the tubular member |02.

Spring biased contact members ||1, |I8 and II9 are mounted in theinsulating block |03, there being two of the contacts I|8 and two of thecontacts ||9 arranged substantially diametrically opposite each other.Thus there are two contacts ||9 engaging with the contact ring 18 andtwo contacts ||8 engaging with the contact ring 11, and the singlecontact ||1, which is on the axis of the swivel member 40, engaging withthe contact 16. With this arrangement of contacts vthere will beassurance that there will always be a connection between the conductors|20, |2| and |22, and the conductors 14, 13 and 15, respectively,through said contacts, the conductor |2| having branch conductors |23leading to the contacts ||8 and the conductor |22 having branchconductors |24 leading to the contacts I9. The conductors |20, |2| and|22 extend from the cable |25, which extends through the passage in thetubular member |04 and leads to the motor I5. The motor I5 is a threephase motor and the electrical energy is thus supplied to said motorfrom the cable 36 in the supporting cable I1 through the cable 31 andthe cooperating contacts to the cable |25 having the conductors that areconnected with said motor.

The coupling II2 has a passage |26 therein, which leads to a suitablepassage in the threaded end portion |21 of a member |28, which isconnected with the coupling I I2 and which is in turn connected with thesection I3. The passage |26 is provided with a stuing box comprising thepacking gland |29 and the layers of compressible packing |30, whichprovide a liquid tight joint around the cable |25 in said passage |26.

A chamber is thus provided that is sealed so as to retain a body ofliquid therein, which chamber includes the passage within the tubularmember |04 and the chamber between the piston |01 and the bottom endwall of the member 8|. In order to provide communication between thischamber and the chamber |06 in the member 8|, a liquid passage |3I isprovided in said member 8|. The liquid chamber |06 communicates with thespace between the tubular members 1| and 19 and also with the spacewithin the tubular member 1| and thus with the passage in the swivelmember 40. There being no seal between the member 40 and the tubularmember 19, the space between the tubular swivel member 40 and themembers 19 and 80 up to the sealing rings 83 will also be incommunication with the other above referred to spaces. An insulating oilis injected into the spaces under pressure through the valve |33 in themember 8| and the air released through the valve |32 in the member 80.

The insulating oil is indicated by the numeral |34 in Figs. 2 and 2a.

As the drilling apparatus will be in a body of liquid containing waterwhen in operative position in the well bore the column of water abovethe openings IIB will cause the liquid in the well bore under pressureto ll the chamber |35 back of the piston |01. However, the spring I|3will further urge the piston upwardly and thus the pressure on the oil|34 will be greater than the pressure of the liquid in the chamber |35and, accordingly, at all seals the outward pressure exerted by the bodyof oil will be greater than the pressure of the liquid containing wateron the outside of the seals. Thus if there is any leakage or seepagethrough the seals, it will be an outward seepage or outward leakage ofoil rather than an inward passage of the liquid containing water.

The member |28 has gripping means provided thereon that are of identicalconstruction to the gripping means that comprise the shoes 50 abovedescribed, except that said gripping means are of greater length.However, the shoes 50 of said gripping means operate in the same manneras the shoes 50 above described, and are mounted in a similar manner onthe member |28 so as to cause the same to be thrown outwardly intoengagement with the well wall upon any tendency of reverse rotation ofthe member |28 due to the rotation of the drill I6. Instead of providinga pair of openings in the shoes for the retaining means, three openings56' are provided in each of said shoes, and it is obvious that anydesired number of such openings and retaining bars or bands 62', whichare the same in construction as the'members 62 above described, can beprovided, dependent upon the length of the gripping means and of theshoes. The shoes are provided with lugs 6I corresponding to the lugs 6Iof the shoes 50, which operate in radial slots in ring members 46' and41 corresponding to the ring members 46 and 41 previously described. Theoperation of the lower gripping means comprising the shoes 50 is exactlythe same as that of the upper gripping means having the shoes 50.

It will accordingly be seen that the torque exerted on the apparatus bythe rotary drilling operation will thus be resisted first by the shoes50' to thus reduce rotation of the section I2 to a minimum. Furthermorethe tendency of this rotation to be transferred to the section II willbe entirely eliminated due to the cooperation of the upper grippingmeans 50 holding the section II stationary and the swivel connectionbetween the section II and the section I2. Thus any tendency of thecable I1 to twist will be entirely avoided by the combination ofgripping devices and swivel connection between the same provided in thisdrilling apparatus.

It will be noted also that the seals that are provided between twomoving parts, where the only possibilities of leakage of liquid mightoccur, are so arranged that the outer body of liquid containing water ison the lower side of the seal and the insulating oil comprising theinner body of liquid is on the upper side of the seal. This is trueofthe seals IIU, III and 89.

By the particular mounting of the pivoted shoes 50 and 50' by means ofthe bar-likevmember 62, a very strong connection is provided betweenthese pivoted shoes and the members on which the same are mounted. Theelectrical connections and contacts are all in the-body of 'Y insulatingoil and the contacts are so constructed and arranged that there willalways be a good contact between the cooperating contact members for anyposition of the parts of the swivel connection relative to each other.In additionr to that, means is provided by means of the cooperatingcontacts 93 and Si to give anfinstant indication or signal at thesurface as to the performance of the gripping means and of the swivelconnection.

The tubular member I8 serves as a housing for the cable clamping meansso as to prevent any damage thereto and at the same time provides abasket for catching anything that might otherwise drop down to a pointwhere it would inter` fere with the operation of the gripping shoes orother moving parts of the apparatus.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An anti-rotation device for a deep well drill comprising a hollowcentral body with longitudinal grooves, torque shoes pivoted against thebottom portion of said longitudinal grooves, said torque shoes havingholes therein, lingers on the ends of said torque shoes, upper and lowerrings rotatably mounted on said body, radial grooves in said ringscontrolling through the ngers on said shoes the position of said shoes,wall contact spring p-ieces connecting said rings, and hinges welded tosaid body and passing through said holes in said torque shoes.

2. In well drilling equipment of the type wherein the bit is driven by amotor that is lowered into the bore hole behind the bit and fol-j lowsthe bit downwardly as drilling progresses, the motor being suspended ona cable that is payed out to lower same into the ground; the improve-`ment which includes a swivel coupling between the lower end of the cableand the upper end of the motor housing; said coupling comprising a firstpart secured to the lower end of said cablel and a second part securedto the motor housing and supported on said rst part but rotatablerelative thereto about an axis longitudinal of the bore hole, a powersupply line comprising a plurality of electrical conductors terminatingat said rst part, a motor input line comprising aV plurality ofcorresponding conductors terminating at said second part, brushes on oneof said parts co-acting with slip rings on the other part toelectrically connect corresponding conductors of the respective linesregardless of the relative angular position of the two parts, meansincluding said two parts providing an enclosure about said brushes andslip rings, an insulating liquid in said enclosure, means maintainingsaid liquid at a pressure in excess of the pressure outside saidenclosure, means holding said first part against rotation about saidaxis, other means connected to said motor housing for resisting rotationthereof about said axis, an electrical signalling circuit extending fromsaid swivel coupling to the surface, and a signal generator in\ saidcoupling operative to transmit electrical impuls ver QNhe slnldaea arate dependent upon the rate of`lative rotation of said two parts.

3. In well drilling equipment of the type wherein the bit is driven by amotor that is lowered into the bore hole behind the bit and follows thebit downwardly as drilling progresses, the

motor being suspended on a' cable that is payed out to lower same intothe ground; the improvement which includes a swivel coupling between thelower end of the cable and the upper end of the motor housing, saidcoupling comprising a Ypair of intertting members relatively rotatablgabout a vertical axis, one of said members secured to the lower end ofsaid cable and the other secured to the upper end of the motor housing,means holding said one member against rotation about said axis, othermeans connected to said motor housing for resisting rotation thereofabout said axis, an oil chamber disposed partly Within each member, arotary seal between the members resisting leakage of fluid into and outof said chamber, means including a thrust bearing in said chamberrotatably supporting said other member on said one member, and meansmaintaining the oil in said chamber at a pressure in excess of thepressure outside said chamber.

4. In well drilling equipment of the type wherein the bit is driven by amotor that is lowered into the bore hole behind the bit and follows thebit downwardly as drilling progresses, the motor being suspended on acable that is payed out to lower same into the ground; the improvementwhich includes a swivel coupling between the lower end of the cable andthe upper end of the motor housing, said coupling comprising a pair ofinteriitting members relatively rotatable about a vertical axis, one ofsaid members secured to the lower end of said cable and the othersecured to the upper end of the motor housing, means holding said onemember against rotation about said axis, other means connected to saidmotor housing for resisting rotation thereof about said axis, an oilchamber disposed partly within each member, a rotary seal between themembers resisting leakage of fluid into and out of said chamber, meansincluding a thrust bearing in said chamber rotatably supporting saidother member on said one member, and means maintaining the oil in saidchamber at a pressure in excess of the pressure outside said chamber, anelectrical signalling circuit extending from said swivel coupling to thesurface, and a signal generator in said coupling operative to transmitelectrical impulses over said circuit to the surface at a rate dependentupon the rate of relative rotation of said two members.

5. In well drilling equipment of the type wherein the bit is driven by amotor that is lowered into the bore hole behind the bit and follows thebit downwardly as drilling progresses, the motor being suspended on acable that is payed out to lower same into the ground; the improvementwhich includes a swivel coupling between the lower end of the cable andthe upper end of the motor housing, said coupling comprising a pair ofinter-tting members relatively rotatable about a vertical axis, one ofsaid members secured to the lower end of said cable and the othersecured to the upper end of the motor housing, means holding said onemember against rotation about said axis, other means connected to saidmotor housing for resisting rotation thereof about said axis, an oilchamber disposed partly within each member, a rotary seal between themembers resisting leakage of uid into and out of said chamber, meansincluding a thrust bearing in said chamber rotatably supporting saidother member on said one member, a power supply line entering saidchamber through an aperture in said one member, a motor input lineentering said chamber through an aperture in said other member, meanssealing each of said apertures, brushes and slip rings within thechamber carried by the respective members for electrically connectingcorresponding conductors of the two lines regardless of the relativeangular positions of said members, and means maintaining the oil in saidchamber at a pressure in excess of the pressure outside said chamber.

6. An anti-rotation device for a deep well drill comprising a centralbody with longitudinal grooves, torque shoes having portions pivotallyreceived in said grooves and having openings therethrough, and means formaintaining said shoes in assembled relation with said body comprisingcurved bars traversing said grooves, extending through said openings andfixed at the ends thereof to the walls of said grooves.

'7. An anti-rotation device for a deep well drill comprising a centralbody with longitudinal grooves, torque shoes having portions pivotallyreceived in said grooves and having openings therethrough, and means formaintaining said shoes in assembled relation with said body comprisingcurved bars traversing said grooves, eX- tending through said openingsand welded at the ends thereof to the walls of said grooves.

8. An anti-rotation device for deep well drills comprising a centralbody with longitudinal grooves, torque shoes having inner end portionspivotally received in said grooves and having openings therethrough,means for maintaining said shoes in assembled relation with said bodyportion comprising curved bars traversing said grooves, extendingthroughsaid openings and fixed at the ends thereof to the walls of saidgrooves, said shoes having outer end portions adapted to engage the wallof said well, and means for moving said shoes into engagement with saidwall upon rotation of said body comprising a pair of slotted rings,projections on said shoes engaging the slots in said rings, and means onsaid rings engaging said wall to hold said rings against rotation.

9. An anti-rotation device for a deep well drill comprising a centralbody with longitudinal grooves, torque shoes pivotally connected in saidgrooves, rotatable disks coaxial with said body at the upper and lowerends thereof, fingers on said disks engaging said torque shoes andadapted to swing said shoes outwardly to make contact with the well wallupon relative rotation between said disks and central body in onedirection, and outwardly bowed spring members connecting the upper andlower disks and bearing against the well wall.

10. An anti-rotation device for deep well drilling comprising a centralbody, a plurality of torque shoes arranged longitudinally of said bodyand spaced circumferentially around said body, means connecting one edgeof each shoe to said body for pivotal movement relative thereto, andmeans for swinging the free edges of said shoes outwardly to engage thewell wall upon rotation of said body in one direction.

11. An anti-rotation device for deep well drilling comprising a centralbody, a plurality of torque shoes arranged longitudinally of said bodyand spaced circumferentially around said body, means connecting one edgeof each shoe to said body for pivotal movement relative thereto,rotatable disks coaxial with said body at the upper and lower endsthereof, fingers on said disks engaging said torque shoes and adapted toswing said shoes outwardly to make contact with the well wall uponrelative rotation between said disks and central body in one direction,and outwardly bowed spring members connecting the upper and lower disksand bearing against the well wall. ARMAIS ARUTUNOFF.

(References on following page) References Cited in the le of this patentUNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Gardner June 30, 1891 Swan June26, 1894 Krohn Sept. 29, 1903 Mathews Nov. 4, 1913 Bacon Mar. 7, 1916`Mathews Apr. 15, 1919 Schepp et a1. May 29, 1923 Hirschfeld et al. Dec.18, 1923 Connet July 15, 1924 Bullock Jan. 20, 1925 Anderson Mar. 24,1925 Zalusk May 1, 1928 Number 14 Name Date Taylor Aug. 9, 1932Sandstone May 2, 1933 Diehl June 16, 1936 Thomas Mar. 2, 1937 CulbertsonAug. 22, 1939 Thaheld May 14, 1940 Lee Dec. 10, 1940 Mehr Feb. 11, 1941Drummey June 3, 1941 Purtle et a1 Dec. 1, 1942 Rogers et a1 Oct. l2,1943 Kothny Jan. 18, 1944 Van Alstyne Mar. 28, 1944 Van Wormer Aug. 8,1944 Bard July 29, 1947

